


Oblivious

by hoid_washington



Category: Stormlight Archive - Brandon Sanderson
Genre: F/M, How Do I Tag, I guess this would qualify as fluff?, Kaladin being self-deprecating, Minor angst that is then resolved, My First AO3 Post, Romance, Saucy but not NSFW, also fun fact i headcanon kaladin as demisexual, and then there's a dick joke, but thinking of him as demi does make a few things make more sense, i feel like it's too saucy for that tho idk, kaladin has his shirt removed at one point, that isn't explicitly mentioned in this so you can read him as straight if you want tho, that's all there is innapropriate-wise
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-03
Updated: 2020-11-03
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:20:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,556
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27374095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hoid_washington/pseuds/hoid_washington
Summary: Tarah just wants to make out with her boyfriend. Unfortunately, her boyfriend is Kaladin Stormblessed, who does not understand subtlety when it comes to romance.
Relationships: Kaladin/Tarah (Stormlight Archive)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 13





	Oblivious

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this as practice for a larger fic I have waiting in the wings, but then this accidentally turned into its own thing. I thought it wasn't a bad first fic, so I decided to post it.
> 
> Shoutout to my beta reader. She knows who she is

As usual, Kaladin was brooding when Tarah found him. That was his default state - sitting by himself, pondering deep thoughts about honor and courage and such. The only variable was what he was doing as a side activity. In the mornings he brooded while practicing katas; in the afternoon he brooded while training greenvines; and in the evening he brooded while either training more greenvines or being trained by others. The Kaladin Stormblessed Brooding Schedule seemed eccentric to those who weren't familiar with it, but Tarah had learned to decode it in the few months since they had begun dating. Currently, The Brooding Wagon had an hour of time to kill before the soldiers all gathered together for an announcement from one of their generals.

A great deal could happen in an hour.

As squadleader, Kaladin had been given his own room - really just a tiny utilitarian box, but it was his alone. The man himself sat in a small chair to the side of the room. He was stretching, holding his arms out in front with fingers interlocked. He hadn't noticed Tarah's entrance, so she rapped lightly on the doorframe. When Kaladin saw her, a smile crept across his face (storms, he was cute when he genuinely smiled), and he stood up. Tarah had been planning a remark about his failure to notice her, but then he pulled her into a hug, and she momentarily forgot how to breathe.

Kaladin was warm, and he smelled of sweat and rain and hard work. His hair was grazing her face, his arms were around her waist, his body against hers. And yet it wasn't enough. She wanted more, _now._ He was here and he was hers and she just wanted to -

"It's nice to see you," he whispered into her ear. Oh, how much she loved that, the feel of his breath on her skin -

Kaladin drew back from her and walked over to the room's tiny desk. "Since you're here, I have some reports that I wasn't able to get the higher scribes to read for me. Also, I need a letter sent to Captain Nomal about the squad rotation."

There were many things that Tarah enjoyed about dating Kaladin. But a decided negative was his occasional complete inability to _read the storming room, hon._

"Are those urgent matters?" Tarah tried, choosing her words carefully. 

"Important, but I guess not urgent," Kaladin said. "Do you have something to do?"

"Well, not exactly." Tarah stepped towards him. "To be honest, Kaladin, I didn't come here to scribe for you." She rested her freehand on his arm. "I came because I wanted to see you. Alone."

Kaladin's eyes widened. Then he turned his head to the side and cursed under his breath. "Well, I certainly feel like one of the Ten Fools now."

"It's okay," Tarah said, and she could feel herself smiling. "Storms, this is kind of what I expect at this point, considering how long it took you to realize that I liked you."

She had intended it as a lighthearted jab, but Kaladin didn't seem to have taken it that way. She could practically see the clouds in his eyes - he was quickly sinking into one of those moods that could take hours for him to fully get out of.

"Hey," she said, softer this time. "Remember, I waited for you to notice for a reason. I could have just moved on to someone else, but I chose not to. And when you did ask me out, I wouldn't have said yes if I didn't find your one-track mind endearing."

"I just don't see why you would," Kaladin mumbled. He looked over to her briefly before his brown eyes darted away again.

"Because." Tarah nudged his head in her direction, forcing eye contact. "It's what makes you _you._ "

Kaladin's expression softened. Not completely - Tarah wondered if that was even possible. But it was enough. Enough for him to lean over and softly kiss her. It was gentle and meaningful, and part of Tarah melted at the romance and emotion. But it was over all too soon, and was more, well, _chaste_ than she wanted right now. But she appreciated it nonetheless.

When he drew back, Kaladin took her freehand in his. "So," he said, "what did you want to talk about?"

Tarah blinked.

"I can't imagine that this 'cheering me up' session was planned," he continued, "though I appreciate it nonetheless."

Ah. He still thought that she was here to talk.

_Why did I have to fall in love with the most oblivious man in the cosmere?_

"Y-yes, it was impromptu," she forced herself to say, "but, well…" Suddenly she couldn't speak. Despite fully knowing why she had come here, she realized that she had made no plan to make it happen. How did one phrase this in a polite manner? _Well, babe, to be frank, I'm very horny right now for literally no reason. It can be a bit of a distraction if I don't do anything about it, so with your permission, I would like to spend the next hour or so with my tongue in your mouth. Is the blunt way I'm phrasing this turning you on yet?_

"Is something wrong?" Kaladin asked, his worried face returning.

"No," Tarah said quickly, not wanting him to return to his self-deprecating state. "It's just...well, Kaladin, it's evening, and I'm your significant other. And we're in your barrack."

Kaladin's face remained neutral. Apparently she would just have to spell it out for him.

"Has it occurred to you that I may have come here with...ulterior motives?"

At first he simply cocked his head, and Tarah was afraid she would have to be even more blunt. But soon his eyes widened slightly, and his face flushed red. He let out a choked _"oh"_ , then stared at the floor like he wanted it to throw him, or her, or both of them, out the nearest window.

"Once again," he said, voice still strained, "my apologies for being dense."

"You aren't the only dense one in this room," Tarah said. In retrospect, throwing this upon Kaladin with no warning may have been the stupidest thing she had ever done. And yet… "Now that you know," she said hesitantly, "your thoughts?" She knew she should just apologize and go home, but part of her wasn't going to give up so easily. Mostly the horny part, and she knew that it wasn't the best at making sound decisions, but it was nothing if not persuasive.

For a moment Kaladin just looked at her with wide eyes. Tarah began to worry that she had gone too far, but she forced herself to remain calm on the outside. Well, somewhat calm. 

Kaladin opened his mouth as if to say something, then closed it. When he tried to speak again, only stammered gibberish came out. It was honestly quite adorable.

"Well - I-i - do you really think this is the time or place to…" He wasn't even able to finish the sentence. "I mean, y-you didn't even close the door when you came in - "

In one smooth movement, Tarah reached behind herself, grabbed the door, and swung it shut.

"You were saying?"

Kaladin's face shifted from red to scarlet.

Tarah sighed. "I will say that I'm sorry for just throwing this upon you randomly. I should have talked to you first before just assuming that this would be okay. But I don't regret the sentiment of it. What can I say, Kaladin, I like to be with you. Emotionally, and physically. And tonight I wanted to be with you in ways not really meant for public view. But if you're uncomfortable, I can leave, and I will never do this again."

Kaladin thought for a moment before speaking. "Well, I can appreciate your enthusiasm."

A moment of silence. After which, Tarah released a small giggle. That led her to chuckle at having giggled, and then laugh at having chuckled, and last of all, bellow at having laughed. She had to lean against the desk, she was laughing so hard. She wasn't even sure why - just the absurdity of the situation, mostly. The bizarre lengths she had gone to just for a makeout session, Kaladin's flustered reaction to it and her anxiety over that. All she knew was that once she started, she couldn't stop. To her side she could see Kaladin, watching her with a puzzled amusement. He was smiling - good. 

After a few moments, Tarah's laughter left her system. She turned to Kaladin as if nothing had happened.

"You done?" He almost laughed just saying it. Tarah nodded her head.

"Okay," said Kaladin. "As I was saying, I do appreciate that you apparently think highly enough of me to, um, want this." Oh, storms, he was so awkward. It was cute, but also concerning. _What happens if I ever want to go all the way with him? He probably can't even say 'sex' in a non-clinical setting._

"As you can tell, I...well, I think about this kind of stuff less than other people. And that's not for lack of interest," he hurriedly added. "But I'm simply...not the most physically driven person when it comes to romance." He looked to her, and she saw an anxiety there. _Perhaps he's worried that I won't want to continue dating him because of that?_ She nodded for him to continue.

"Honestly, right now half of me wants to kindly escort you out the door and pretend that this whole conversation never happened."

Tarah tried not to wince. "Yeah, I definitely didn't handle this in entirely the best way." She looked to the floor.

"And yet," Kaladin said quietly, "the other half of me really, _really_ wants you to stay."

Tarah's head immediately jolted back up. Kaladin met her eyes, and she saw something uncommon in his gaze. Not unheard of - she had seen it slip out a few times, but never to this extent. It was still Kaladin - honest, loving. But there was something darker to it as well. A need, a _desire_ struggling to hold itself back from immediate action. It was unfamiliar, and absorbing, and slightly terrifying. 

And _Kelek,_ was it hot.

Tarah could feel her own passion from earlier quickly returning. "Well," she said, working to keep the shakiness out of her voice. "It's up to you, Kaladin."

He locked eyes with her, and slowly walked over. He was getting close, too close for him to expect Tarah to just stand here -

"Two things," Kaladin said. His voice was quiet, in a lower octave than normal that gave her goosebumps. "First: how far do you want to go with this?"

"Not very. Mostly just kissing you until you can't breathe." Kaladin's breath hitched a little at that. _Oh, this is_ so _much fun._ "Perhaps a little skin exposure, if you don't mind?" She intentionally glanced down at Kaladin's shirt.

He considered that for a moment. "Alright, but nothing really beyond that, okay?"

"Deal."

"Second." Kaladin inhaled, as if to prepare himself. "I've mentioned this before, but...you're my first serious girlfriend. Meaning, in addition to not being naturally predisposed to this, I also have no idea what I'm doing. So, uh - "

"Relax, Kal." Tarah gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll go easy on you." Then she yanked his head down towards hers and quickly brought her mouth to his.

Despite his prowess and efficiency at killing enemy soldiers, Kaladin was not an aggressive kisser. He was firm, but slow, wanting to savor the moment. And there were times when that kind of loving was just what Tarah needed.

Now was not one of those times.

She pushed against it, trying to persuade him to abandon his usual rhythm and follow hers - quick, forceful, almost frantic in its need to indulge, to absolutely _ravish_ this man and then have him return the favor. Kaladin was slightly surprised by her fervor, and stumbled back a step. But he had always been a quick learner. He matched her pace - _finally,_ a part of her thought. One of his arms hooked around her waist while the other rested in her hair. _So close, finally…_

She briefly opened her eyes to check their surroundings. Just behind Kaladin was an unobstructed wall - _perfect._ She leaned forward, pushing Kaladin flat against the wall. She let her hands travel downward, feeling his lean muscles under his shirt, but making sure to stop when she hit belt. Not only because of her promise to Kaladin - she herself wasn't ready to go that far tonight, despite the part of her that screamed otherwise.

All in due time. She returned her focus to Kaladin's mouth. She started to gently nibble his bottom lip - not enough to hurt, just to send a message. Kaladin obligingly opened his mouth, and Tarah slipped her tongue in. She spent several moments just enjoying this - they had kissed like this a few times before, but never with such intensity. But now they were together like they'd never been before. They were enjoying this beautiful thing and her skin felt like it was on fire and -

Kaladin withdrew his mouth from hers in order to leave a trail of kisses along her jaw. At some point he had shifted his weight off of the wall, and he brought her closer as he began to kiss her neck. Eventually he reached that spot she liked right under her ear, and without meaning to, she released a quiet, throaty hum.

Kaladin faltered, then drew back, much to Tarah's annoyance. "Sorry," he said, "was that a discomfort sound or a - "

"That was a 'this is the greatest night of my life' sound," she said.

"...oh." He was embarrassed - and maybe… surprised? "Sorry, I was just afraid that you were - "

"Kaladin." She placed a hand on his chest. "I appreciate your concern, but it was unwarranted. Now please get back to being the sexiest man I've ever storming met."

She was not shocked when his face turned a deep red - she had known the compliment would fluster him. But she needed him to understand that he was, in fact, Insanely Attractive, and apparently the only way to do that was to be blunt about it. 

Kaladin began to say something, but Tarah raised a hand to cut him off. She shot him an expectant look, along the lines of _this mouth ain't gonna kiss itself._ Kaladin hesitated for only a moment before drawing Tarah close again. She noted that he didn't go to kiss her neck again, which she was a little disappointed by. But as a positive, his hands were beginning to move farther up her torso...

Tarah slowly pulled back. She wasn't sure how long they had left, but she could guess their minutes together were dwindling. It was time for the grand finale. 

Tarah looked to Kaladin and, without breaking eye contact, began to remove her safehand glove. She smirked to herself as Kaladin's line of sight abruptly darted down. 

"My eyes are up here," she teased, setting the glove down on the table.

"Sorry." Kaladin's face was practically dyed red at this point, between both the embarrassment and the arousal. "I just, um, wasn't expecting that."

"And I wasn't expecting you to be so weirdly good at this." She frowned when Kaladin cocked his head. "No, none of this self-pity right now. You can say that you're inexperienced or awkward, and that may be true. But it's also true that I have had a fantastic time tonight, and so have you."

For a moment, Kaladin just looked at her, eyes filled with confusion. But then something lifted from his gaze, and he smiled. A small one, but full of warmth and...contentment. 

Tarah matched his grin. She loved seeing him like this - not worrying about if he was good enough, or deserved what he had been given. Just accepting it all, celebrating it. She hugged him, and he embraced her back lovingly. She leaned in to kiss him again, but stopped when he began to speak.

"I don't know if you've checked the time," he whispered. They were so close that his lips brushed against hers. "But the general's announcement is in fifteen minutes, and it'll take me five minutes to get there."

"Then I'll be done in eight."

"Why not ten?"

"Because," she smirked. "You're gonna need at least two minutes to calm down that spear in your pants."

They both glanced down to the tent in Kaladin's trousers, and his face flushed once again. _Oh Almighty, will this ever stop being fun?_

"Eight it is then," he said, then kissed her. Tarah didn't feel as frantic now - a result of seeing Kaladin happy, and knowing that this soon had to end. She slowly slid her hands down to the buttons on Kaladin's shirt. She found it was hard to keep her hands steady - in truth, she was a little nervous about what she was about to do. Bizarre, since just a half-hour ago she was having significantly more vulgar thoughts than this and hadn't even batted an eye. 

It wasn't like she hadn't seen Kaladin shirtless before. Working with the army, you saw basically every man shirtless at some point or another. But it felt like there was a difference - between just seeing him pass by in that state, and putting him in it deliberately.

She steadied herself and began to unfasten the first button. She couldn't be rough with this - Kaladin did have to leave in what was now probably closer to seven minutes. So she forced herself to be gentle, but efficient. She worked her way down until she was no longer obstructed from his bare skin. One of her arms snaked around his waist, pulling him closer to her. Her other hand ran up his torso. His skin radiated heat, and the muscle under it was firm and strong. She could almost feel the work and training Kaladin had put in, his mental strength alongside the physical.

When she passed over his chest, she could feel his heartbeat beneath, a fast staccato thump. It was similar to her own, which she could practically feel in her ears by this point. Tarah was struck by the intimacy of the situation - sharing something that no one else got to see or feel, in a way so enjoyable to both parties. _Praise the Almighty for inventing sex,_ she thought.

She brought her hand over to his side, and Kaladin mumbled a soft sound. _There we go,_ Tarah thought. She danced her fingers across the area, starting with quick, light touches, then moving into longer strokes. Kaladin was leaning against the wall again, and he broke off their kiss to release another groan of pleasure. Tarah loved seeing him like this - not overthinking for once, simply letting himself unravel in front of her. Not only was it good for his state of mind, but it was _beyond_ erotic. So much that part of Tarah wanted to cast aside her inhibitions, throw Kaladin onto the nearest bed, and continue this for as long as they both lasted. 

However, the logical part of her knew that it wasn't the time, both emotionally and literally. She broke off their kiss and leaned up to speak into his ear. "As much as I would _love_ to continue this, I believe you have other obligations."

Kaladin cursed under his breath, then met her eyes. "Why does everything always have to end right when it's going well?"

"'Tis nature, gemheart." She gave him one last kiss, then withdrew to the other side of the room. They would both need a moment alone before they returned to the public, and not just for Kaladin to get his tiny soldier to stop standing at attention.

Tarah focused on breathing for a moment, both to calm her heart rate and to distract from the... _detailed_ images and thoughts still floating in her mind. She found her safehand glove and slipped it back on. Her hands were sweaty now, which made wearing the glove feel quite gross, but such was the life of a Vorin woman. Was there anything else on her that was out of order? Her shirt was slightly wrinkled, but that could be attributed to everyday wear and tear. Somehow her hair had come out of its ponytail - she found the tie hidden in a few strands, almost ready to fall out. Had it fallen by accident, or had Kaladin taken it out? She sort of hoped the latter, but that line of thinking wasn't helping her to calm down. She let the thought go and pulled her hair back into its loose ponytail.

Now that she was back to relative normalcy, Tarah turned around to see how Kaladin was faring. She found him gazing out of the room's single tiny window. He was staring at the evening sky, painted a dark blue. Salas was out tonight, providing a splash of violet accompanied by freckles of starlight. Tarah quietly stepped closer so she could see Kaladin's face. A calm smile was on his lips, and he seemed to be looking at both everything and nothing at all.

Tarah grinned as well. Then left the way she had arrived - without a word.

**Author's Note:**

> Please please please no RoW spoilers in the comments. I beg of you


End file.
